James ainslie and egbert ainslie



t J. e R. AINSLIE.

SPRINGBED. No. 264,212. Patented Sept. 12, 1882. r

ogflr) o 1 i? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES AINSLIE AND ROBERT AINSLIE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SPRlNG-BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 264,212, datedSeptember 12, 1882. Application iled July 29, 1.882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES AINSLIE and RoBEn'rAINsLIE, citizens of theUnited States, residingatBi-ooklyn, Kings county, New York, haveinventednew and useful ImprovementsA in Spring-Beds,of which the following is aspecitication.

This invention relates to thatclass of springbeds which are composed ofa series ot' longitudinal and transverse metal strips or slats unitedtogether and supporting volute or spiral springs which are connected attheir larger ends by a system of chains or links. Such class of beds arecapable of being rolled into cylindrical form when not in use; but insome beds of this character theeXtent to which they can be rolled orfolded is limited by the inherent elasticity or iexibility of thetransverse metal strips or slats. In one. instance these transversemetal strips or stays have been composed of a series of links providedat their ends with eyes loosely encircling and engaging pintlcs securedto the opposite ends of clips, each of such clips being rigidly attachedto one of the longitudinal metal strips composing the bed, and providedwith projecting ears at its ends, between which the aforesaid pintlesare rigidly secured to engage the eyes on the links composing thecross-stays, as above stated. This construction of bedbottom permits thesame to be rolled or folded, and in this respect is very desirable; but,owing to the peculiar construction of the aforesaid clips, the necessityof providing both ends ot' each link with an eye to loosely engagepintles on the clips, and the rigid attachment of the longitudinal metalstrips or slats centrally 'to such clips, the cost of manufacturing thebeds involves such expense as to preclude extensive sale ofv the beds.Besides this, the peculiar arrangement of the parts necessitates theclips being made of considerable length for the purposes ot' receivingand supporting the longitudinal metal strips or slats, and obviouslythis prevents, to a considerable extent, the rolling of the bed into theleast compass and into the smallest cylindrical form 5 and, further, theexcessive strain brought on the eyes ot' the links and the pintles oftheclips, which must necessarily be made small, materially weakens thestructure ot' the bed and renders it'eXceedin gl y liable to becomebroken and disarran ged.

The objects of our invention are to overcome such objection, to providea bed which possesses substantial and strong qualities, to permit thebed to be rolled into the least possible compass, and to enable it to becheaply manu factured andhence save considerable expense to the public.These objects we accomplish bythe construction of spring-bed illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a top or plan viewot' our improved spring-bed spread open. Fig. 2 is an end view ot' thesame rolled up, and Fig. 3V is a detached enlarged view clearly showingthe form of hinge-joint used to couple or connect the adjacent ends ot'the sections composing the transverse metal strips or slats.

TheletterA refers to thelongitudinal springmetal slats or strips, whichare arranged parallel with each other at suitable distances apart, andriveted or otherwise secured at their ends to the transverse strips B, athird transverse strip being also attached to the middle ot thelongitudinal strips.

C indicates the volute wire sprin gs, which are attached, as usual, tothe longitudinal strips, and connected together by means of cha-ins D,which, when the bed is open, lie in the outlines of diamond-shapedtigures, as illustrated in Fig. l. The outer longitudinal strips ot' theseries are further connected with the end strips at the corners ot' theframe by brace-links E, and upon each line ot' springs at the two sidesof the bed are secured the upper side strips, F, which prevent the bedfrom sagging at its sides.

In carrying out our invention we form each one ot the transverse metalstrips ot' any desired number of sections, and these sections wc connecttogether at their ends by butthinges G, so as to t'orm acompletejointedmetal strip. Each of these hinges is composed of two leaves, l, unitedby a connectingpintle, 2, which serves as a means for articulating theleaves together, and each leaf is rigidly attached to the upper side ofone end of each section composing the transverse metal strips or stays.1t will be observed that this mode of joining the sections serves tobring their ad jacent ends in close juxtaposition, and theretore the bedcan be rolled into the very least possible compass;V and, further, theen tire structure is materiallystrengthened by such IOO mode of hingingthe sections. A further function resulting from this mode of constructing the bed is that when the same is opened the adjacent ends of thesections abut against each other, thereby acting as stops and in ameasure limiting the movement of the parts in opening the bed. Thesehinges allow the bed to be spread out, as shown in Fig. l, or admit ofit being folded or rolled up, as in Fig. 2. They will also admit of oneportion of the bed being readily raised-or rolled while the other liesin a spread condition upon the bedstead-slats or other support for thespring-bed.

It will be observed that each transverse strip has a hinge between eachpair of longitudinal strips, and hence the bed can be folded into quitea small compass.

Any suitable fastening devices can be provided atthe terminals of thetransverse stripsas, for example, a strap could have an eye at one endand a hook or button at the other, whereby after the bed has been rolledup, as in Fig. 2, the meeting ends of the transverse straps can beconnected together, and thus render the bed convenient for shipment orstorage.

The transverse strips need not necessarily be made of very thin springmetal, as heretofore, since even if made quite stout the bed can berolled up into the form shown in Fig. l, or otherwise folded, as alreadyspecified.

It will be seen that the vol nte springs in no Wise interfere with thefolding up of the bed into compact form, and that While the hinges admitof the bed being rolled up much more readily than heretofore they alsopermit the bed to be made considerably stronger.

What we claim is As an improved article of manufacture, a spring-bedconsisting of longitudinal and transverse metal strips or stayssupporting connected volute or spiral springs, each of said transversestrips or stays being composed of sections having their adjacent endsrigidly fixed to the leaves of' butt-hinges, and thus brought intoclosejuxtaposition, in the manner and for the objects herein set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence ot'two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES AlNSLlE.Y ROBERT AINSLIE.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL GoNKLIN, JOHN WILDE.

